Cigars are the smoking gun that led to Tuolumne burglary suspect

Tuolumne County sheriff’s deputies followed a trail of stolen cigars to arrest the 20-year-old transient suspected of burglarizing a convenience store in Big Oak Flat early Sunday.

The manager of the Claim Jumper Outpost on Highway 120 was alerted by a motion-sensing alarm inside the business and called the Sheriff’s Office around 2:30 a.m.

Deputies watched surveillance footage of a burglar wearing a dark hooded jacket, dark pants, dark gloves and dark shoes with light soles. The suspect threw a large rock through a store window and stole several tobacco items.

The trail of dropped cigars led to a nearby residence, where deputies found Wyatt Wilson, who was wearing clothing that matched the person in the surveillance video.

The store manager confirmed that items collected inside the residence by deputies were stolen from the Claim Jumper.

Wilson was booked into the Tuolumne County Jail on burglary charges and a felony no-bail bench warrant.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Cigars are the smoking gun that led to Tuolumne burglary suspect."